Depend on Me
by Ciela Aberk
Summary: Charlotte can't seemed to sleep tonight because of the memories of her mother's death, and Ichika seems to do something to help her. Like he said, she can always depend on him. A Charles x Ichika Oneshot. Rated T for safety.


Hello everyone! This is my first IS fanfic and the pairing is Charlotte (Charles Dunoa) and Ichika! xD

Yes, I fell in love it Charles since the first time I read about her in wikipedia~ And she's so very kawaii in episode 6 as well, tehehe~

Anyways, I hope that you guys will enjoy the story! Since I'm not really skilled as an author... *sigh*

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned IS! If I do, I would make the main pairing IchikaxCharlotte, not HoukixIchika... Tehehehhe...**

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It's such a wonder why she can't sleep this night. Charlotte has been expecting a deep slumber since she had a practice-duel with Laura back in the one by one duel lesson, and it wasn't one of those 'friendly' duels. Laura is never the one to hold back after all, and both of them don't like losing, so the battle is kinda tough. She thought that she would as well be dozed out now, considering her fatigues. And not to mention after finally free from her father's strict supervision, she can finally let out some breath. She always had a decent sleep in the dorm after she moved away to the academy.

So why the hell can't she feel the blissful slumber right now...?

She turned to see her roommate Ichika, who is now sleeping so contently that she can't help to smile at. Ichika is her first friend in the academy, and he decides to keep her secrets for her sake, and that makes them becoming a best friend. The man has already dozed off even before the clock strikes nine. He said that today was so tiring, and his bones felt like they were going to crack, so Charlotte understands. It's no wonder though, he had a special training with Orimura-sensei after school today, and the teacher isn't famous of being gentle, even with her own brother it seems. She let out a hearty sigh, as she looked at the night sky through the window, feeling a little bit lonely.  
It's such a beautiful night though. The moonlight shines through the glass window, creating a magnificent spectrum of light. And the sky is so clear, a miracle since it has been raining for days, showing millions of stars and constellation that she didn't even know the name. The sound of crickets and the breeze created a beautiful night symphony, which was practically rare now in the city. Charlotte smiled wryly as a wave of nostalgia hits her.

It really reminds her of her hometown in France. Not the cold and unfriendly Dunoa mansion, but the warm house that she shared with her mother before she died. She sometimes can still smell the scent of apple and cinnamon that always lingered in the house, and sometimes can imagine the lavender garden outside of her house. She can remember her mother's comfortable scent as she relished the feeling of her comforting embraces, and she can't help but to miss her now.  
Not that she didn't miss her before, but it has been so long, and she never really think about her mother anymore, so she thought that she already recovered from her mother's death. She tried to push the fact that her mother had died with IS manuals, father's instruction, the lessons at the academy, everything to make sure that she will not have the time to think about her mother.  
But now the pain of realization is back in her heart, and it seems so much worse than before that she wonders if time really does heal her wounds.

Because what she feels now is even worse than before.

She let out a choked breath, as tears started to leak out from her eyes. She tried to brush it, but the droplets keep on appearing in her eyes that she stopped trying. She let the liquids freely trickling from her pale porcelain cheek.

Why does she cry..? It has been so long, but why do these tears won't stop..?

She buried her face further into her pillow to muffle her cries, soaking the fabric with her tears. She doesn't want to interrupt Ichika's sleep. It would be very selfish of her to destroy his perfect rest. "Mother..." She wept; trying to remember her mother's face, and finds out that she can't do it anymore. All that she has is a blurry picture of a person with a blond hair like her, but she can't remember the exact image. And it hurt her so much more than the fact of her mother's death.  
She never really notices that she started to forget her mother, and it made her afraid.

Charlotte never considers herself to be afraid of something. Darkness, insects, heights, all of those things seemed mundane for her. But now she realizes that forgetting something precious is so terrifying. The fear clawed her heart, and it made her wanted to choke on air. Since when does she started to forget...?  
Pieces by pieces of her mother's images are slowly fading out from her memory, and there's nothing that she can do to make it stop. No matter how hard she tried to grasp the shards of memories that cracked, the little pieces just slip from her fingers, disappearing into the nothingness, leaving her alone in this misery.

"I'm sorry mother." She whispered hoarsely, silently hoping that her mother would hear her and forgives her. But apology doesn't make things right. Apology doesn't make her feeling better. Apology never changes the fact that she has forgotten.

More importantly, apology doesn't cure the situation at all. She keeps on thinking how low she is, and how she hates herself now.  
She can't forgive herself, so how could her mother do..?

"How could I forget you..? How would I..!" She cried out, clutching the bed sheets so tight that her knuckles turned white. She thrived to remember her mother. Trying to remember the warm of her hand, her eye color, the sound of her laugh, her favorite food, anything.

Anything that could make her that her mother doesn't disappear without any sign from her life. And yet even how hard she tried, all that comes into her mind is a static wavy picture of a blond woman. Human's memory isn't designed to keep things forever.

The memories of her mothers are slowly being replaced with new memories, new discoveries, new friends. And she didn't notice it until now.

It was too late, the pieces are forever lost. Forever unseen and unheard.

"I'm so sorry mother..." Because all she have was a figure and a name, but not the memories.  
And as she sobs quietly, she felt someone gently pats her head. She quickly turns out to see Ichika sitting on the side of her bed, a worried look is plastered on his face. She quickly wipes her tears, and straighten herself. "I'm sorry if I wake you up Ichika..." She mumbled, casting her eyes downwards so she won't be able to see Ichika's face right now.

She heard Ichika sighed. "It's okay, Charles. I felt refreshed already." He said, trying to reassure her. But then she noticed the drowsiness in his voice, and that made her feels worse. He was obviously lying for her sake, and she hated it.

"No, you're not. You're still tired..." She objected with a pout.

Ichika chuckled slightly. "Okay, maybe I'm still tired. But I know you haven't sleep, and I'm worried about you."

Charlotte was taken aback by the statement. She never imagine that Ichika will worry about her welfare that much. Sure she knows that he's a kind guy. His willingness to keep her secret already proves that side of him. But they only met for a few weeks after all, so they still don't know each other very well. "I appreciate your concern, but it really is none of your business." She said coldly, because she didn't know how to respond other than a sharp one.

But then she instantly regretted her slightly hostile words after they left her lips. Ichika is trying to be nice to her, so it's not really nice for her to snap at him like that. But thankfully, Ichika seemed to understand as he warmly ruffled her undone hair. "I understand, Charles. But if you want to talk, I'm all ears. It's sometime better to tell someone about your worries after all. And didn't I tell you that you can depend on me...?" He said as he smiled at her which make her heartbeat accelerates.  
She doesn't know if she is ready to tell him. Sure, she trusted him, but she's not sure that she could just tell everything to him.

And then an idea emerges in her mind.

"Umm.. Ichika...?" She inquired, her cheeks started to blush a delightful shade of pink.

Ichika raised one of his eyebrows at her weird sudden change of behavior. "Yes..?"

"Umm.. C-c-can I s-s-sleep w-with you..?" Charlotte stuttered, while fiddling with her thumbs, a habit that she has when she is nervous.

Ichika seemed to be taken aback at her request. "P-P-Pardon..?" He asked, as he also started to blush like her.

"I'm not sure if I can sleep alone tonight, and you said that I could depend on you. Umm.. I'm sorry, never mind if it bothers you." Charlotte mumbled, feeling ever so embarrassed by her silly request. Of course Ichika will think it 'that' way if she says it like that, they are no longer kids after all.

But then due her surprise, Ichika shakes his head. "A man has to keep his words after all. Here, come to the covers." He said somehow affectionately as he burries himself into his covers, patting the spot next to him. He chuckled when he saw Charles blushed even darker while she hesitantly walks to his bed and enters the cover.

"Warm isn't it..?" He grinned, as he brought her closer to him. Charles only let out a little squeak, embarrassed that Ichika's face is just a few good inches from her own. He is just too close, and she feels that her heart will burst if she gets nearer to him than this. Thankfully, After a few seconds, she finally calms out a little and takes a deep breath, inhaling Ichika's body scent.

Ichika's scent is comforting, she thought as she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest so that she is more comfortable. She felt so comfortable, and she felt so warm next to him. "Good night Ichika..." She yawned as she finally closes her eyes to sleep, feeling that she will get a good sleep. If she raised her head, she probably will be able to see Ichika's flustered face, but then she is already drifted to sleep, so she probably missed the sight.

Ichika sighed when he realizes that Charles is already asleep. He realized how uncomfortable Charles is, since she looked like she would fall of the bed anytime soon, since the bed is not big enough for them both, so he warped his arms around her, deleting the remaining distances he has with her. He could feel the blood rushed to his face and silently thanked to God that Charles is already asleep, because if she is not, he would be pretty much embarrassed. He inhaled the scent of her hair. Vanilla, he noticed with a slight satisfied feeling. He loved it.

He then stares at Charles's beautiful face, moonlight streaks on her feature, making her face seemed to glow. He just met her not long time ago, but he can already feel a strong bond between them both. Noticing the last bead of tears on the edge of her eye, he wiped it off gently with his finger. "Sweet dreams, Charles." He whispered to the sleeping blond, even though he was sure that she could not hear him.

But a moment before he closes his eyes, he hears her say, "My real name is Charlotte, if you want to call my by that." He blushed slightly, realizing that all this time, Charlotte is still awake. As payback, he brings his lips near her ear and blows into her ear softly. Charles quickly squirms as a reaction, which makes him quite satisfied, actually. "Good night, Charlotte." He smirked as he sees her blush when he calls her by her real name.

Charlotte finally realizes how sleepy she is and decides to let the matter off for now and closes her eyes one more time, muttered a sleepy goodnight, and then finally snored slightly, her arms tightfully warped around Ichika.

Looking at how peaceful Charlotte sleeps, Ichika can't help but smile at the childish face girl as he pats her head softly. He yawned and then decided to go back to his suspended rest. After putting a light, chaste kiss on Charlotte's forehead, he finally closed his eyes as he followed her to slumber.

And for the rest of the night, both of them sleep soundly, embracing each other with a contented smile on their faces.

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Yep, and that was it!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I uses Charlotte when Charlotte talks about herself, and uses Charles when Ichika is talking about her, because in the anime Charlotte never told him her real name~ In the end, I use Charlotte for both of them since in this story Charlotte tells Ichika~

Thanks for reading minna, if there's anything wrong and flawed (Which I know there's a hell lot), please notify me, I will repair it as soon as I can.

Please drop a review! Flames and constructive ctriticisms are welcomed~ (I'm a pyromaniac, lol)


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